Greek Australian businessman Dimi Kyriazis and his four partners ‘in crime’ have every reason to smile after their company, Golden North Ice Cream, was rated Australia’s favourite ice cream for an unprecedented third consecutive year.
The iconic South Australian-made ice cream received the top rating from an independent survey of 2,791 consumers, conducted by Canstar Blue, earning the only 5-star rating for overall satisfaction as well as top marks for taste, consistency and packaging in this very competitive category.
Canstar Blue’s 2020 survey ranked 18 ice cream tub brands, including Golden North, Sara Lee, Weis, Connoisseur, Bulla, Peters, Magnum (Streets), Haagen-Dazs, ALDI Monarc, and Ben & Jerrys. The ice cream tubs were rated on their variety, taste, consistency, packaging, value for money and overall satisfaction.
“We have certainly worked hard, competing against the most popular ice cream brands in Australia and therefore it is an incredible honour and a huge achievement for us to win this award again. We are extremely happy and pleased with the outcome,” Mr Kyriazis told Neos Kosmos.
Golden North Ice Cream is a South Australian company making premium ice cream from the highest quality locally sourced ingredients and was the only brand to receive the highest rating for taste, consistency and overall satisfaction, securing the title of Australia’s favourite ice cream tub ahead of a plethora of major national brands.
“Considering we are a local South Australian producer to be recognised as the best ice cream in Australia, for the third consecutive time, is quite an achievement. Our business philosophy is to have consistently the best quality products whilst championing local ingredients. This strategy has seen us win this award against other national and multi-national brands with huge resources,” Mr Kyriazis said.
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Mr Kyriazis, whose family’s origins are from Epirus, Rhodes and Karystos, studied marketing and accounting before acquiring Golden North’s operations with his partners approximately ten years ago when Mr Kyriazis was just 33 years old. Together, they made the conscious decision to maintain the high quality of the products and concentrate on building the business brand.
Established in 1923, the privately owned and operated ice cream manufacturer is still based in SA’s mid-north town of Laura where it produces a range of ice cream flavours, including its signature Golden North Honey Ice Cream tubs and Giant Twins ice creams as well as nine popular flavours in its 2L range.
“We are proudly SA made and owned and unlike other brands, our products are still made the traditional way using the freshest milk and cream sourced directly from Aussie farmers to create rich, creamy texture premium ice cream and that’s what makes it so delicious. All our products are also gluten-free and palm oil free, and by the looks of it, Australian consumers have understood our vision and given our brand their vote of confidence,” he said.
Within a short time, the company has gradually gone from employing 45 people and only supplying products in supermarket retailers in South Australia to the current 80 employees working.
Two years ago, Golden North went national and the product range is now available in more than 2000 supermarkets and retail shops outside South Australia including stores in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia as well as Queensland.
“We were humbled the first and second year to receive such an amazing accolade, but to be consecutive winners three years running has completely blown us away. To be rated in this category amongst some pretty impressive competitors is truly amazing. To us it is recognition that our decision to continue making our ice cream with fresh milk and fresh cream was the correct decision. This award is a huge win not only for us and our factory employees, but for South Australia as a whole. What a win for our state,” Golden North’s Marketing Director Trevor Pomery said.
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“We receive many requests from interstate customers who have tried our ice cream on holiday to SA and surrounds to bring the ice-cream to their local shelves and we are working hard to make that happen.
“We are forever grateful to each and every one of you for choosing our product. We now can’t wait for the next three years,” Mr Kyriazis said.